[danso]

Are you serious? Did you read the OP? Did you read the part where he describes encouraging his lover to apply for a job -- and oh, what a coincidence, his lover happens to beat out numerous applicants for a job at a highly respected startup -- and how his lover has just filed a lawsuit accusing the OP of sexual harassment and even attempted, according to the OP, to extort millions from the OP?

And if you read that, you're still asking why HR has any right to know if their executives are in a possible enanglement with a subordinate?

OK, maybe you have a reflexive hate of HR. don't fixate on them. Instead, pretend you were in the shoes of Square's founders or major investors, and you're reading a lawsuit that accuses your COO of sexual harassment, the kind of sexual harassment allegation that can only come from a COO who broke standard operating procedure (I.e. not informing HR of this)

Would you think the investors and partners are more angrier or less angrier than you right now?

[fatbird]

Agreed. If I was one of Keith's C level colleagues, or a major investor, I'd be livid with Keith right now. Not reporting this to HR is bush league stuff.

[spuz]

Someone who is sexually harassing another employee is not exactly in what I would call an ordinary romantic relationship. Who in their right mind is going to go to HR and say hey you know me and that employee over there well he's giving me sexual favours in return for his position at this company.

A person no matter what level he is at who has a genuine consensual relationship with another employee should not cause the company any issues which HR would need to resolve so I still don't understand the need to declare all such relationships to them.

For what it's worth, in the UK it's perfectly OK to have a secret office romance and such things are not required to be declared. It could be that our cultural differences are the main reason for this difference in opinion.